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LOT 1562
Western Asiatic Bronze Axehead
LATE 3RD-EARLY 2ND MILLENNIUM BC
4 1/2 in. (446 grams, 11.4 cm).
With a short socketted shaft, the plain rectangular blade broadening towards the cutting edge; side holes on the shaft.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Mahboubian, H., Art of the Ancient Iran, London, 1997, no.402b, for similar; Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, pl.XIX, nos.72-75, from Luristan.
FootnotesUnadorned weapons, especially axes, adzes, and picks, were made by Luristan craftsmen using simple clay or stone bivalve moulds, into which a core was inserted to form the socket for the shaft. Typically, the metallic composition consisted of a combination of arsenical bronze and copper, together with a small percentage of lead.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1562
Western Asiatic Bronze Axehead
Estimate £250 - 350€290 - 410 (for guidance only)$340 - 470 (for guidance only)
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Ottoman Iron Dagger with Bone Hilt
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Broad iron blade with reinforcing corrugations, inlaid brass ornament; bone scales to the hilt with fixing studs; scabbard with wooden core, leather sleeve, bronze frog and chape; fastened with wire stitching; narrow pocket to reverse to accept a smaller companion knife. 683 grams, 58 cm
Private collection, UK. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Piriform in profile with a domed mouth and a stepped neck, incised decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 460 grams, 16.5 cm
From a specialist collection, London, UK, 1990-2000s.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια, where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Elamite Sar-e-Gorz Spiked Bronze Macehead
Late 2nd-early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
With three adjoining bull heads in high-relief to the top, with three ears and three horns serving all three heads; the horns curving towards the rim of the closed top; the shaft adorned with vertical rows of pointed spikes; hollow socket tube with ring collar at the base; mounted on a collector base. 443 grams total, 18 cm including stand
London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s. Private collection, London. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11997-22061.
